1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to desalination systems, and particularly to a system for electrostatic desalination that uses ionized gas formed through corona discharge.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, great interest has been focused on the technique of desalinating seawater through evaporation. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a conventional desalination apparatus 600 utilizing solar energy, which is commonly known as a “basin type solar heat distiller”. The desalination apparatus 600 has a basin 602 for holding raw water W (e.g., seawater) and an air shield 603 that covers the basin 602 and is permeable to sunlight S. The outer surface of the air shield 603 is used as a radiating part 606. In the desalination apparatus 600 of FIG. 6, the raw water W in the basin 602 is heated with sunlight S to generate water vapor 605. The water vapor 605 is cooled and condensed on the inner surface of the air shield 603, and thus distilled water 607 is obtained.
Although the system of FIG. 6 does not require the use of an external energy source (other than the solar energy), the evaporation rate is quite low, and depends upon the intensity of the sunlight. Thus, the system cannot produce pure water during the night or when it is cloudy, and the production rate is highly variable throughout the day and dependent upon the optical conditions and properties of air shield 603. Additionally, the condensation is inhibited by the fact that the shield is disadvantageously hot. It should be noted that the heat is utilized only in a single pass without recirculation and that the surface area available for evaporation is quite limited (i.e., limited by the surface of the basin).
Thus, a system for electrostatic desalination solving the aforementioned problems is desired.